The Course Portfolio as a Tool for Continuous Improvement of Teaching and Learning

Abstract

This article explains how to use learning-centered course portfolios to improve teaching and learning. After developing a rational for using teaching portfolios that focus on individual courses, the author discusses how course portfolios can be used to (a) document and assess more fully the substance and complexity of teaching, (b) connect assessment of teaching with assessment of learning, and (c) foster better teaching and learning. The article concludes with a discussion of portfolio use on the author's campus and in his own teaching. Assessment in Higher Education According to guidelines proposed by the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE Assessment Forum, 1992), Assessment requires attention to outcomes but also and equally to the experiences that lead to those outcomes. Information about outcomes is of high importance; where students “end up” matters greatly. But to improve outcomes, we need to know about student experience along the way-about the curricula, teaching, and the kind of student effort that lead to particular outcomes. Assessment can help us understand which students learn best under what conditions; with such knowledge comes the capacity to improve the whole of learning. (p. 2) One of the most critical connections in students' education-the link between teaching and learning-is often overlooked in assessment practices. Assessment focuses on either learning or teaching but not on the interplay between the two. Assessments of learning typically document students' knowledge but do not examine how classroom practices contribute to learning outcomes. Traditional methods for evaluating teaching